


sunflowers

by Amikotsu



Series: Akatsuki Gift Exchange 2019 [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Difficult Decisions, Friends to Lovers, Gift Exchange, Gift Fic, Language of Flowers, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Not Really Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21880306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amikotsu/pseuds/Amikotsu
Summary: Itachi survives the fight with Sasuke and decides to spend the rest of his time in a field of sunflowers. War looms over them, and he swears it's not his war, not their war, not anymore.
Relationships: Hoshigaki Kisame & Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame/Uchiha Itachi
Series: Akatsuki Gift Exchange 2019 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1575520
Comments: 8
Kudos: 87
Collections: Akatsuki Gift Exchange





	sunflowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Misfit_McCoward](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misfit_McCoward/gifts).



> Akatsuki Gift Exchange 2019. For exemplarybehaviour.

And they lived happily ever after.

How many times had he heard those words, under the cover of night, tucked away in his bed? His mother had made worlds out of words, each story another attempt at lulling him to sleep. If he had been in another time, in another place -- Itachi closed his eyes and smiled. He smiled through the sharp pain in his chest and the tears gathered in his eyes. He'd lived, and that was the turning point in his story, the moment leading into that happily ever after. He pressed his index and middle fingers to his little brother's forehead, smearing blood across Sasuke's pale skin, then he exploded into a dozen crows, a flurry of dark feathers the only sign of his existence.

He doubled over, one hand pressed to his chest, as if he could calm his beating heart. The sharp pain had spread, encompassing his whole chest, rising and falling with every breath. He wondered if he'd survived the fight only to die there, lost amongst the towering Hashirama trees. He looked up toward the sky, but he saw branches and leaves, an endless sea of green, and he longed for the south sea again, for the ebb and flow of the water. His movements were slow, he knew that, but he refused to stop when stopping promised death. Itachi had someone waiting on him; he didn't have time for death.

The night welcomed him, a lone crow summon trailing after him, becoming like his shadow. He would die, as all men died, but not yet. Please, not yet. Kisame found him amongst a sea of sunflowers. The night didn't do the scene justice. They had no moon to reveal the petals, to hint at the vivid yellow and green, but Itachi imagined. A small path cut through the field, allowing them a peaceful passage through the flowers. Itachi wondered if Sasuke had seen the sunflowers, if Sasuke would have enjoyed them in the night. Near the middle of the path, Itachi stopped, dissolving into a violent coughing fit. Eyes clenched shut, chest constricting, Itachi fought for air. Kisame turned back to stand beside him, comforting him by rubbing his back, all the man knew to help. They were both so emotionally distant with one another, hesitant to allow someone close, all in fear of betrayal.

After the coughing, Itachi wiped his hands on his cloak, ridding his pale palms of flecks of blood. They acted as if nothing had happened, and Itachi preferred it that way. He chose not to allow himself to be seen as weak, even as the disease stripped him of strength, slowly destroying him. Itachi twisted the Akatsuki ring on his right ring finger, loosening it until he could remove it. The ring stood for his membership in the organization. Since he had no place there, he had no reason to keep the ring. He threw it as far as he could and listened for the sound of the ring as it bounced off the flowers. He was free; for the first time in his life, he felt light. His crow circled around before finally settling on his right shoulder, as if it too knew freedom. Though he would never expect the same reaction from Kisame, Itachi waited, hoping the man would follow through with their plans.

Kisame slid the ring from his left ring finger. South, just like the sea. He hesitated, torn between pocketing the ring and throwing it to the flowers.

"What's stopping you?" Itachi thought of possibilities. Second thoughts. Regrets. Pain. Tobi. Hadn't Tobi revealed his face to Kisame, eliminating the mystery behind the man? Brows pinched, Kisame looked over the kanji there, then he lifted his head. The expression was gone, replaced by a toothy grin. 

"Nothing," Kisame replied. And then the ring sailed through the air, disturbing sunflowers, meeting earth. Kisame threw it as far as it would go, the arch one that they both tried to pinpoint. They saw little in the dark. "We're free," Kisame voiced, a small sigh following. "You aren't dead," he added, some amusement in his eyes. 

"Yes, it appears so. Maybe I have nine lives, like a cat," Itachi noted, shrugging. Kisame laughed. The man saw nothing of a cat in Itachi, not with the crow perched on Itachi's shoulder. "We should keep a low profile, stay away from major villages," Itachi thought aloud, turning to continue along the path. Kisame was slow to follow. 

"We could follow Sasuke. I'm not an idiot. You won't just retreat into the shadows. Aren't you interested in his next move? He's probably falling apart," Kisame said, chuckling at the image. The thought of Sasuke reduced to the role of a broken child amused him, despite the fact that his reaction bothered Itachi.

"What he does with his life now is none of my concern. I've been a stain on his life for long enough."

"You think he's going to let you go. I don't know that runt, but I highly doubt he'll stop chasing you." Itachi frowned, but Kisame only paused. The man still followed, close enough that Itachi could smell the man's fresh scent. He smelled crisp and fresh, like water, likely from the jutsu he'd used. "I think he's stupid enough to get himself into trouble."

"It's almost like you want to be involved in the oncoming war. It's not my war -- it's not our war -- not anymore. I have little left to give. Fatigued, nearly blind," Itachi trailed off, the words lost to the night. Kisame grunted, agreeing, though he knew he had more to give, enough to give. He'd lost the will.

Tobi. The thought of the man luring Sasuke down that path had Itachi stopping. As if on reflex, he sent the crow away, allowing the bird to soar free. He'd grown so accustomed to spoiling Sasuke, bending to Sasuke, that he found himself doing it again. Freedom suddenly felt like silk slowly slipping through his fingers. Kisame watched the crow take flight, as if he knew that Itachi would eventually cave. He'd known that since they'd left the south sea. When he finally saw the full picture, he knew that Sasuke still held control over Itachi. Everything for the village, everything except Sasuke. Kisame wondered what that was like, to love someone so much, to be so loyal that he would destroy himself. Kirigakure left him jaded. He'd spent so long being loyal, and then he'd glimpsed the darker side of things, and then he'd dirtied his hands with the blood of comrades and traitors alike. 

"I'll stand beside you, Itachi. I have nothing better to do," he said, even though he'd wanted to say something more. He'd wanted to say that he would stand beside the man until he was no longer needed, until Itachi finally dismissed him. And then he considered the possibility that he loved the man. The thought left him uneasy.

"I appreciate it," Itachi said, even though he'd wanted to say something more. There was something there that someone else might have explored, something that had the smallest of smiles forming.

Around them, the sunflowers swayed in the cool breeze. Soon it would be fall. Soon there would be war.

**Author's Note:**

> Second of four ❤


End file.
